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Saurian
Like their behemoth kin, the saurians are relics of an ancient time and unknown to nearly all inhabitants of the world. As a people, saurians struggle to uphold time honored traditions while they maintain the ruins of their once opulent city states. Individually, each saurian must decide for themselves if they will maintain their culture in its long decline or leave their ancestral home to find a new life. Kin to Behemoths Saurians tower over other humanoid races. The size of the saurian race is proof, saurians say, of their mandate of ruler ship over the younger races and their connection to the primordial origins of the world. When their footfalls shake the earth and echo off the hills, even the skeptical are inclined to give their point consideration. Their appearance is further evidence of their ancient and titanic origins. All saurians resemble the behemoths commonly believed by scholars to have ruled the world in prehistoric times. Different saurian subraces resemble different species of behemoths but all are covered with a scaled or feathered hide, possess large black eyes, and have strong tails. The End of an Era The reign of the saurians was long but so far in the distant past that none but their own scholars even recall the details of it. In the modern age, saurians remain in ancient, gilded cities deep in the forgotten places of the world. Hidden away in these lands lost to time, saurians remain committed to the culture and traditions of their ancestors. Even as their numbers grow fewer with each passing decade, saurians still look to the past rather than embrace the future. In that bygone age, the saurian people ruled sprawling empires from capitols littered with gold and precious gems, enlightened by the doctrine of their religious philosophy, and pioneered a great number of the mundane and mystical arts practiced today. At least, that’s what the saurians claim. With their numbers shrinking since before recorded time, some saurians embrace a fatalistic stance that their race was born dying. Breaking With Tradition Saurians are an isolationist and monocultural people and have been for the length of recorded history. When a saurian becomes an adventurer, they leave the highly structured society they come from and embrace a world of dizzying freedom. A saurian might take this dramatic leap because they reject the caste they’ve been born into, they’ve committed a great crime, or they’re the last survivor of a once great city-state. Whatever the reason, saurians typically know little of the customs of other people and often struggle to adopt new ways of thinking. Saurians serve adventuring parties well as historians. Saurians are long lived as individuals and, collectively, look to the past for answers to present challenges. A saurian might recall the details of how a great force of evil was contained or defeated long ago, or remember the solution to an ancient riddle. Saurian Names Every saurian is given a personal name at birth. In adolescence the saurian is taught the personal names of all of its ancestors and these form the saurian’s extended name. Saurians traditionally greet others by announcing their personal name and as much of their extended name as they can remember. Between saurians it is considered rude to list a longer extended name than someone older or in a higher social status. Ankylos Names: Bhatha, Bhima, Charma, Gada, Gadadhar, Khethah, Laguda, Sainya Deinony Names: Babila, Javana, Pathika, Rajaduta, Rewa, Turanya, Vanik, Yathu Plesios Names: Aayaata, Annapurna, Karshakka, Maalaakaara, Ogha, Puura, Riddhi, Samudra Pteradas Names: Aakaash, Aksha, Daksha, Pataga, Silpa, Vihaga, Yantram, Yukti Sarchos Names: Dawati, Hantaram, Makara, Nakra Raja, Peck, Tanupa, Udadhi, Urmi Triceras Names: Acharya, Agamya, Aparavid, Chanaakya, Gyana, Itihaasa, Katha, Vidvat Tyrannos Names: Abhiraj, Adhip, Bhayan, Mahesh, Mahiipat, Rajaan, Upadravin, Virochan Racial Traits Age. Saurians mature slower than humans do, reaching maturity at the age of 100, and can live up to a thousand years. Alignment. Saurians are creatures of habit and custom and are almost always lawful. Saurians have an even temperament and a dislike for trouble, making them disinclined toward good or evil. Size. Saurians are between 6 to 8 feet tall and weigh between 350 and 450 lbs. A saurian’s size varies by subrace with Pteradas being the smallest and lightest, Plesios being the tallest, and Ankylos being the heaviest. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30. Behemoth Kin. Your size counts as large for the purposes of determining carrying capacity and grappling. Intimidating Size. When you make an Intimidation ability check against a creature your size or smaller, you gain advantage. Long Memory. You have proficiency in the History skill. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic. The Saurian dialect of Draconic is obvious to other speakers of the language and unless you learn Draconic again from another source, your speech in Draconic will always be notable for its Saurian idiosyncrasies. Subrace. Saurian society is divided into castes primarily determined by a saurian’s subraces. Ankylos are expected to become a member of the military or city guard. Deinony serve their people as ambassadors and traveling merchants. Plesios are depended on as farmers and explorers of saurian society. Pteradas are known for their creativity and expertise as artisans. Sarchos are found almost exclusively in coastal cities 3 and often make up whatever naval forces a saurian citystate has. Triceras are encouraged to become scholars and bureaucrats. Tyrannos are the leaders of saurian society, as likely to be feared as they are admired. Ankylos By tradition, the ankylos are the military caste of saurian society. Ankylos are introduced to fighting in small groups as a competitive team sport for the entertainment of other saurians. As ankylos age, they take on roles in the city guard, in militaries, or as bodyguards and warriors. These combat roles well suit the ankylos, who are the heaviest among saurian kind and possess both natural weapons and defense. Along their back the ankylos have contiguous bone plates that create a shell and their tail ends in a club formed from a dense nodule of the same bone plates. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1. Club Tail. You have a club tail which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal 1d6 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage. Heavy. You have advantage on saving throws against being moved and knocked prone. Bone Plate. You have a bone plated back you can use to intercept attacks when you have no better shield on hand. While you are not using a shield you gain +1 to your AC. Slow. Your base movement speed decreases to 25 feet. Deinony With their heightened speed and relatively smaller frame, the deinony serve saurian society as ambassadors, merchants, and rangers. In ancient eras the deinony would travel from one saurian city-state to another delivering their ruler’s lists of demands, requests, or peace offerings. It has been centuries since two great saurian city-states have been close enough for such a relationship so deinony today serve as the primary face of saurian society to the outside world, if the outside world knows of saurians at all. To the uneducated eye, a deinony might look like a particularly feral lizardfolk. To those who are familiar with both races the deinony’s size, protruding nose, and dagger-sized talons on their feet make the two impossible to confuse. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma scores increase by 1. Clawed Toe. You have dagger like claws at the end of your feet that you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Clever. You have a natural talent for providing openings and advantages for others. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to take the Help action. You can use this feature again after you complete a short or long rest. Raptor Agility. Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns. Plesios Plesios form the bulk of the agricultural caste of saurian society. Plesios are naturally gifted at tending the land and the sea and are taught horticulture and herbalism at a young age. Many plesios become farmers but some rare few serve their communities as druids or rangers instead. Plesios are the tallest of the saurian owing in no small part to their sizeable neck. Plesios stand nearly 8 feet tall on average with their neck comprising about 2 feet of that height. Despite lacking any external gills, plesios are equally at home above and below water. Their skin produces an oily sheen when they remain out of water for extended periods of time. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1. Darkvision. Accustomed to darkened waters, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. Aquatic. You have a swimming speed equivalent to your base walking speed and you can breathe air and water. Catch of the Day. When you are near a body of water you can spend 10 minutes fishing. You catch 10 fish which function identically to the berries created by the spell, goodberry. You can use this feature again after you complete a long rest. Pteradas In saurian society, pteradas make up the artisan caste. In a culture that changes as slowly as saurian society does, pteradas are given a limited freedom to innovate and experiment with new forms of art and thinking. In practical roles, pteradas become artists, philosophers, and inventors. Physically the pteradas are the smallest and lightest of all saurians. Their relatively spry stature allows them to use their wings, a membrane between the bottom of their palms and their top of their hips, to fly. Their heads are long and angular, due to their pronounced beaks. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1, and your Dexterity score increases by 2. Flight. You have a fly speed of 30 feet. You cannot fly using this feature when you are carrying more than half of your encumbrance rating in weight. While flying in this way you cannot make attack rolls, cast spells, or maintain concentration on spells you had previously cast. Tool Proficiency. Choose and gain proficiency with any one tool. Sarchos Sarchos occupy a precarious position in saurian society. It’s an accepted fact that sarchos were one of the youngest of the saurian races and their unique gifts leave them ill-suited for landlocked settlements. While historically the sarchos made up the bulk of saurian citystate’s navies, today few such city-states exist and those that do are hard pressed to muster enough members to call it a “navy.” As a result, sarchos are largely forgotten by other saurians or sometimes even viewed as suspicious outsiders. In the rare saurian city-states that have long and proud naval traditions, the sarchos are still accepted as members of society, but often take roles that keep them at sea. Sarchos have long snouts, a thick scaled hide, short powerful legs, and long tails. While their gait on land could be described as awkward, they swim with the grace of a sea serpent, using their tails to propel themselves forward. Sarchos are sometimes mistaken for large crocodiles by humanoids unfamiliar with saurians. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1. At Home in Water. Your base movement speed decreases to 25 feet, but you have a swimming speed of 30 feet. Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to your Constitution modifier in hours (minimum 1). Powerful Jaws. Sarchos have powerful jaws they can use to grapple and control enemies with in combat. When you make a grapple attempt you may use your mouth instead of a free hand. If you do, and you successfully grapple a creature, that creature takes your strength modifier in damage. Scaley Hide. Whenever you complete a short or a long rest you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). Triceras Triceras are regarded as gifted scribes and ritualists and make up the majority of the scholar caste in saurian society. As such, triceras are called on to remember the customs and traditions of the past as well as interpret and implement the application of historical laws. Triceras fulfill their function as members of the scholar caste by serving as judges, priests, and lorekeepers. The most striking physical characteristic of the triceras is their forehead which forms an elevated ridge that separates the front of their skull from the back. Three horns protrude from the front facing side of that ridge. A shorter horn sits directly above the triceras’ beak and two longer horns grow on either side of central horn. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength and Intelligence scores both increase by 2. Living Fossil. Your proficiency bonus is doubled when you make Intelligence (History) ability checks. Tricorn Headbutt. You have three horns on your head that you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Ritualist. Choose any 1st-level spell with the ritual tag. You can cast this spell as a ritual. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell. Tyrannos Along with the blood of the mythical Tyrant King, the tyrannos inherit the birthright of leadership and form the ruling caste of saurian society. Historically, the tyrannos proved their worth as rulers by launching extended military campaigns against one another. As the numbers of their subjects dwindled, the efficacy of such campaigns became unsustainable. Traditional tyrannos do little today but rule over the decaying ruins of their once great society while enterprising tyrannos may attempt to start trade with the wider world. Tyrannos are given a wide berth in terms of the functional roles they play in society but most often act as politicians, rulers, and merchants. The tyrannos are easily identified by their large heads, which they claim are a result of their superior intellect and political prowess, and their short arms, which everyone else should be careful never to call to attention. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1. Carnivorous Bite. You have rows on rows of sharp teeth which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 2d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Small Arms. You have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons. Tyrant King. You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill. Terrifying Roar. You can use your action to roar with rage, shocking your inferiors into submission. When you do, all creatures within 30 feet must pass a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of your next turn. The DC for this saving throw is equivalent to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency modifier. After you use your terrifying roar, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.